Alexa Scalchunes CP #4

 Today I met with Zahrae, an upper level CIES student.

Today was my last meeting with Zahrae, as her pregnancy is due soon. Surprisingly, out conversation turned somewhat political and we compared and contrasted marital laws and norms in Kuwait and the US.

First, we discussed polygamy in law and practice. In Kuwait, I learned it is legal for a man to have as many as 4 wives, but this is very rare in practice because husbands have high respect for their wife and only marry one now, though it is still legal. Zahrae asked about polygamy in the US. I told her that I think it is legal in some places and illegal in others, but it is very rare in practice as well.

Next, I asked Zahrae about gay marriage in Kuwait. She said that although two people of the same gender cannot get married, many gay couples do exist in private in Kuwait. We discussed the role that religion plays into this and I told her about how there are many different opinions on the subject in the US. We respectfully shared our opinions and learned more from each other and about the countries we are from. 

Overall, I was not expecting the conversation to cover serious topics, but I am very glad we both felt comfortable discussing our opinions with each other in a respectful way.